Patentable/Patents/US-7602379
US-7602379

Digital annotator

PublishedOctober 13, 2009
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

A method and apparatus for creating and using temporary electronic bookmarks, such as those associated with a web browser, uses a digitizer tablet with an inking pen (or stylus). An end-user created symbol on the tablet, in terms of Cartesian coordinates position, is associated contemporaneously with a specific electronically addressable site as a temporary label for the site's address. A set of created symbols is then used as a current index into a data structure that holds the associated value related to the web site, allowing the user to jump between annotated sites using the created symbols. Other data retrieval uses are described.

Patent Claims
17 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.

1

1. A computer annotator system for accessing Internet data addresses, the system comprising: an electronic tablet having a screen with plural predefined regions that receive handwritten mnemonic symbols at random locations on the electronic tablet, the handwritten mnemonic symbols are hints for different Internet data addresses, and geometric coordinates of the handwritten mnemonic symbols on the electronic tablet become indexes of the Internet data addresses; a marking stylus associated with the tablet; a device for associating the handwritten mnemonic symbols at the random locations on the plural predefined regions with the Internet data addresses, wherein subsequently accessing one of the handwritten mnemonic symbols on the predefined regions with said stylus triggers a shift, on a display separate from the tablet, to one of said Internet data addresses associated with the one of the handwritten mnemonic symbol in the one of the predefined regions.

2

2. The system as set forth in claim 1 comprising: clicking on the one of the handwritten mnemonic symbols to navigate to the one of the Internet data addresses.

3

3. The system as set forth in claim 2 comprising: said tablet having at least one predetermined second surface region accessible to said stylus wherein freehand symbols indicative of the preselected data address are entered.

4

4. A method for indexing computer-accessible Internet sites, the method comprising: accessing a first of said sites with an electronic device; associating an address indicative of the first of said sites with a first location coordinate address on a computer writing tablet, separate from said electronic device, via a first handwritten mnemonic symbol that is a user recognizable hint for the first of said sites, the hint for the first of said sites being on a first random location on said writing tablet during access of said first of said sites; accessing a second of said sites; and associating an address indicative of the second of said sites with a second location coordinate address on the computer writing tablet via a second handwritten mnemonic symbol that is a user recognizable hint for the second of said sites, the hint for the second of said sites being on a second random location on said writing tablet during access of said second of said sites.

5

5. The method as set forth in claim 4 further comprising: continuing said method for a plurality of computer-accessible internet sites other than said first and said second as long as there is available space for further handwritten mnemonic symbols.

6

6. A method as set forth in claim 4 comprising: erasing a said handwritten mnemonic symbol on said writing tablet after a last access to an associated address indicative of a computer-accessible internet site.

7

7. A method for using a computer writing tablet, the method comprising: associating an input-output port of the computer writing tablet with signals indicative of Internet-associated computer data addresses; when each of a plurality of the Internet-associated computer data addresses is accessed on a computer separate from the computer writing tablet, writing a mnemonic object at a random location on said computer writing tablet, wherein the random location on said computer writing tablet of the mnemonic object becomes an index of an Internet address and the random location is coupled to a current one of said Internet-associated computer data addresses and said mnemonic object is handwritten and a user recognizable hint for the current one of said Internet-associated computer data addresses such that clicking on the mnemonic object navigates the computer to the Internet address; and accessing any specific one of said plurality of the Internet-associated computer data addresses by selecting the mnemonic object associated therewith.

8

8. The method as set forth in claim 7 comprising: predefining specific locations on said computer writing tablet with data indexing functions.

9

9. The method as set forth in claim 8 comprising: erasing each said mnemonic object for disassociating a location from the current one of said computer data addresses associated therewith.

10

10. A computerized method comprising: accessing an internet site with an electronic device; receiving a handwritten symbol for the internet site at a random location on a screen of a computer writing tablet that is separate from the electronic device, the handwritten symbol being a user recognizable hint for the internet site; creating an index of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the internet site from geometric coordinates of the handwritten symbol at the random location on the screen; and selecting the handwritten symbol at the geometric coordinates on the screen of the computer writing tablet to cause the electronic device to navigate to the internet site.

11

11. The method as set forth in claim 10 comprising: providing writing tablet function keys on said computer writing tablet.

12

12. The method as set forth in claim 10 comprising: defining the screen as a coordinate system with plural locations, each location being a temporary bookmark for an internet site.

13

13. The method as set forth in claim 10 comprising: automatically alternating access between a plurality of addresses accessed and associated with mnemonic devices by alternating current selection between said mnemonic devices with a writing tablet writing instrument.

14

14. An internet search tool comprising: an internet access device; in communication with the internet access device, a writing digitizer tablet and associated inking stylus; and associated with the combination of internet access device, writing digitizer tablet and stylus, program code using said digitizer tablet for generating bookmarks thereon related to respective search resultant internet sites such that said sites are accessible directly via said bookmarks, wherein each of said bookmarks is a handwritten mnemonic hint at a random location on a screen of the writing digitizer tablet, the handwritten mnemonic hint is user recognizable as a previously selected internet site address such that clicking on the bookmarks navigates the internet access device to the resultant internet sites.

15

15. The tool as set forth in claim 14 wherein each of said bookmarks is located in a coordinate system on a screen of the digitizer tablet.

16

16. The tool as set forth in claim 14 wherein each of said bookmarks is a temporary representation of coordinates on said writing digitizer tablet.

17

17. The tool as set forth in claim 16 wherein each of said bookmarks activates a jump from a current internet site address to an internet site associated with another selected one of said bookmarks.

Classification Codes (CPC)

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Patent Metadata

Filing Date

June 19, 2001

Publication Date

October 13, 2009

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